A day of days for Kerry as they complete the Ulster clean sweep

The 42

7 days ago

YOU CAN SAY these things now, and I have the What's App receipts if you'd like to check up, but after the semi-finals weekend, I messaged around a dozen people to tell them that, 'Remember this in a fortnight's time – Kerry will have walloped Donegal.'
It was part hop-balling and a bit of craic to provoke some chat. But I would be selling myself short by saying I didn't think that Kerry were going to lift their 39th Sam Maguire.
Forgive me for my lap of honour here. Or don't.
It matters little to me anyway, but Ulster is well stocked with journalists and pundits and pretty much all of them went for a Donegal win. And I can back it up by directing you to the GAA Weekly podcast last week when Fintan O'Toole and myself both predicted a Kerry win.
So there you have it; Declan Bogue, the Punter's Friend. Come all ye working men and women and invest your meagre wages.
The logic I used was based on the fact that Kerry are forever the most ruthless cut-throats in Gaelic football, bar none.
And how they would have loved the Godding-Up of Donegal over the last number of weeks.
Gaelic Games is the classic example of recency-bias and Donegal's win over Meath in the semi-final prompted many to lose their sense of reason. Essentially, once Oisín Gallen potted his goal early in the second half, Meath packed away their season.
Even you and I could have looked sensational playing in that last twenty minutes. Well, maybe you anyway.
Meanwhile, Jack was poisoning all the black dogs of Ulster that had followed him around in campaigns past.
First Armagh, then Tyrone. They might have fallen to Meath in Tullamore, but a Kerry team arriving into Croke Park, brimming with spite is a loaded gun.
You see, Jack's always had this thing with Nordie teams. See a man like me can use those terms. Flash, Nouveau Riche and full of it, he said, while mentioning he went to visit a prominent Ulster coach to pick his brains about defensive systems and so on.
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And somehow, he got the name that Ulster sides spooked him. They didn't. Apart from the 2005 final against Tyrone, his record in that record was strong.
Beating Armagh, then Tyrone and now Donegal was the exact way he would have wanted it.
And that it was against Jim McGuinness would have satisfied Kerry most.
Jack O'Connor. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
In McGuinness, Donegal have a supreme motivator and a leader that anyone who plays under him, adores.
But he is not above questioning when it comes to the tactics selected.
Cast your mind back to the 2014 All-Ireland final. In the last few plays, Kerry had possession. Donegal needed to get the ball back. Instead, they stayed in a defensive shell, waiting for Kerry to launch an attack so they could force a turnover.
Kerry weren't fools. Instead they held the ball and recycled it around their most talented ballers, eating up the clock. The System, as it was called then, ate itself whole.
The thing is that the exact same thing happened here. The end of the first half was almost comical as Paudie Clifford, more than anyone, held onto the ball. He could have had a picnic in possession, and yet there were no challenges going in.
Down on the sideline, McGuinness got close to where Brendan McCole and David Clifford were hanging out. Immediately, McCole had his hands on David Clifford.
Essentially, Donegal decided the game would stop by not engaging. And once the hooter went, Paudie Clifford decided the game was back on again. In quick order, David Clifford booted the two-pointer of Jim Gavin's dreams.
'You've got your plans and you've got your processes and you've got all the things that you're working on all year. Where we got rattled was in possession ourselves. We gave the ball away at times today where it's very uncharacteristic. Against Kerry, you can't do that. They keep the ball very well,' said McGuinness.
To which you can only ask, why did you leave the best pound for pound footballer in the country in Paudie Clifford unmarked throughout the entire game?
There's a rumour going round right through that claims Paudie touched the ball 76 times. I checked it out by asking some colleagues and it appears it's Kosher.
What the hell were Donegal thinking?
'Paudie Clifford is almost pressure-resistant. It's very, very difficult to get heat on him. He's physically strong, controls the game, protects the ball very well and obviously plays very well with his brother,' said McGuinness.
It was a day of slightly odd behaviours from Donegal. They had to be asked twice to join the parade while they conducted a mini priming session in the middle of the pitch. They broke early from the parade then. And they did their usual thing of keeping the opposition waiting at half-time.
It reminded one of Armagh in 2003, which felt at the time like Death By Huddles.
It took nine minutes for David Clifford to touch leather in this game. Before that, he and Brendan McCole could have been wearing the same shorts. His first score was a spectacular two-pointer. Three minutes later he had another one.
Kerry emerged from the first quarter, blinking into a 0-13 to 0-4 lead. Gavin White had been superb. Their defence was on top and Donegal's handling deserted them.
Kerry's greater ambition carried the day. They had nine digs at two-pointers in the first half, with four flying between the posts.
Donegal had none.
By the time they did try a few, the options were questionable. Caolan McGonigle attempted one that was blocked down by Joe O'Connor and gave Kerry oxygen.
They did suffer bad luck in losing a cast-iron two-point threat in Ciaran Thompson to an early injury. And further misfortune with the departure of Ryan McHugh after Gavin White steamed into him at the start of the second half.
After twenty minutes, Michael Murphy went back into his own half. Throughout the game, he never got a sight of a two-point attempt but across the ground, he simply does not match Jason Foley for pace anymore.
Michael Murphy. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO
The greatest footballer Donegal ever produced had a remarkable season after two years away. Truly remarkable.
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He is in a cohort of players that you wouldn't be surprised to see leave over the winter. This was a team that looked at the end of a season that began in Abu Dhabi and had more hotel residentials than Judith Chalmers.
But, to use the device the GAA President is fond of to bring his speech to conclusion; the day belonged to Kerry. The day belonged to the side that had the sharper skills, the better shooters, the innate understanding of what every play meant and how to cook it up themselves.
This was one year that football didn't need a big final to redeem itself after the manure of earlier rounds. And it didn't get it either.
But football, and Kerry football, is in a good place right now.
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Postscript: Naturally, we will gloss over the predictions that both Kilkenny and then Cork were going to end Tipperary's hurling summer.
Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here